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Sunday, August 19, 2012

NASA's amazing new view of Mars

NASA's amazing new view of Mars

The US space agency NASA has recently pieced together a panoramic view
from the camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, calling it
the "next best thing to being"
on the Red Planet.

A full-circle scene combining 817 images taken by the panoramic
camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. The US
space agency NASA is calling it the "next best thing to being" on the
Red Planet. (AFP Photo/)

A TextureCam analysis of a Mars image is able to distinguish rocks from soil.

A Martian dust devil roughly 12 miles (20 kilometers) high was
captured winding its way along the Amazonis Planitia region of northern
Mars on March 14, 2012 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
(NASA/JPL-Caltech/UA)

This image mosaic taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's
panoramic camera shows a new slice of martian real estate southwest of
the rover's landing site. The landscape shows little variation in local
topography, though a narrow peak only seven to eight kilometres away is
visible on the horizon. A circular depression, similar to the one dubbed
Sleepy Hollow, can be seen in the foreground. Compared to the Viking and
Pathfinder landing sites, the terrain at Gusev Crater, Spirit's landing
site, is flat and speckled with a sparse array of rocks. The picture
was released by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California
Janaury 10, 2004. EDITORIAL USE ONLY (CREDIT : REUTERS/NASA/JPL/Arizona
State University/Cornell University/Handout)less

A view of Eberswalde crater containing a rare case of a martian
delta, with well preserved channels which fed the lake in the crater,
located in the southern highlands of Mars, seen in this handout
photograph acquired by Mars Express at approximately 25S / 326E during
orbit 7208 on August 15, 2009 and released September 2, 2011. The delta
deposits and channels together provide a clear indication of liquid
surface water during the early history of Mars. The images have a ground
resolution of about 22 m per pixel. Reutersless

A close-up of the sunset on Sol 24 as seen by the Imager for Mars
Pathfinder was released by the Jet Propulsion Labratory August 27. The
red sky in the background and the blue around the Sun are approximately
as they would appear to the human eye but the color of the Sun itself is
not correct -- the Sun was overexposed in each of the 3 color images
that were used to make the picture. The true color of the Sun itself may
be near white or slightly bluish.less

Mars' Victoria Crater at Meridiani Planum is seen in this image taken
by NASA's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera in
this picture released October 6, 2006. NASA officials gave conflicting
views during a meeting of space scientists on December 13, 2006, on
whether the construction of a moon base will mark a great leap in
planning for a manned mission to Mars or prove a wasteful diversion of
funds. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY REUTERS/NASA/JPL/Caltech/Handout (UNITED
STATES)less

A portion of the west rim of Endeavour crater sweeps southward in
this color view from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity released
by NASA August 10, 2011. This crater has a diameter of about 14 miles
(22 km). This view combines exposures taken by Opportunity's panoramic
camera (Pancam) of the rover's work on Mars August 6, 2011. Opportunity
arrived at the rim during its next drive on August 9, 2011. Endeavour
crater has been the rover team's destination for Opportunity since the
rover finished exploring Victoria crater in August 2008. Endeavour
offers access to older geological deposits than any Opportunity has seen
before. The lighter-toned rocks closer to the rover in this view are
similar to the rocks Opportunity has driven over for most of the
mission. However, the darker-toned and rougher rocks just beyond that
might be a different type for Opportunity to investigate. The ground in
the foreground is covered with iron-rich spherules, nicknamed
"blueberries," which Opportunity has observed frequently since the first
days after landing. They are about 0.2 inch (5 millimeters) or more in
diameter. REUTERS/NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/ASU/Handout (UNITED STATES -
Tags: SCI TECH) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR
ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT
IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO
CLIENTSless

A handout of the European Space Agency ESA shows a visualisation of
Mars, created from spacecraft imagery. ESA's first mission to the Red
Planet is Mars Express. It comprises an orbiter carrying seven
scientific instruments to probe the planet's atmosphere, structure and
geology, including a search for evidence of hidden water. The main
spacecraft will also release the UK's small Beagle 2 lander to gather
and test rock and soil samples on the surface. British space probe
Beagle 2 failed to broadcast a signal on December 25, 2003, to confirm
it had landed on Mars, but scientists said they were waiting for a
second contact opportunity later on Thursday. REUTERS/Ho/European Space
Agency ESAless

In this image released January 19, 2005, NASA's Mars Exploration
Rover "Opportunity": has found an iron meteorite on Mars, the first
meteorite of any type ever identified on another planet. The pitted,
basketball-size object is mostly made of iron and nickel. This composite
combines images taken through the panoramic camera's 600-nanometer
(red), 530-nanometer (green), and 480-nanometer (blue) filters
REUTERS/NASA/JPL/Cornell/Handout SSM

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Surface Stereo Imager shows two trenches
dug by Phoenix's Robotic Arm in this image taken June 8, 2008, the 14th
Martian day after landing. Soil from the right trench, informally called
"Baby Bear," was delivered to Phoenix's Thermal and Evolved-Gas
Analyzer, or TEGA, on June 6, 2008. Picture taken June 8, 2008.
REUTERS/NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M
University/Handout (UNITED STATES). FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE
FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS.

A cliff, up to 4,000 m high, located in the eastern part of Echus
Chasma, one of the largest water source regions on Mars, is seen in this
image taken by the High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board ESAís
Mars Express and made available July 14, 2008. Echus Chasma is the
source region of Kasei Valles which extends 3,000 km to the north. The
dark regions REUTERS/ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/G.Neukum/Handout. FOR EDITORIAL
USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS.

The High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board ESA?s Mars Express
has returned images of Echus Chasma in this image made available on July
14, 2008. Echus Chasma is an approximately 100 km long and 10 km wide
incision in the Lunae Planum high plateau north of Valles Marineris, the
?Grand Canyon? of Mars.

One of the first colour images from the Phoenix Mars Lander shows the
surface of Mars after the Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft landed
successfully in the first-ever touchdown near Mars' north pole May 25,
2008. REUTERS/NASA,JPL, Caltech, University of Arizona/Handout. FOR
EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS.

An artist's conception shows what NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
has revealed, vast Martian glaciers of water ice under protective
blankets of rocky debris at much lower latitudes than any ice previously
identified on the Red Planet. Scientists analyzed data from the
spacecraft's ground-penetrating radar and report in the November 21,
2008 issue of the journal Science that buried glaciers extend for dozens
of miles from edges of mountains or cliffs. REUTERS/NASA/Handout (UNITED
STATES) QUALITY FROM SOURCE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR
MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS

This magnified look at the martian soil near the Mars Exploration
Rover Opportunity's landing site, Meridiani Planum, shows coarse grains
sprinkled over a fine layer of sand, in this image released by NASA's
Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, February 4, 2004. The
image was captured on the 10th day of the rover's mission by its
microscopic imager and roughly approximates the color a human eye would
see. Opportunity, NASA's second of two roving Mars probes, rolled ten
feet off its lander onto Mars on January 31.